AUGUST 5, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists* Review. 



t3 



Dendrobium Euosmutn. 



mostly in demand, you must keep them 

 rather closely cropped. Young stock 

 rooted in late winter should now be in 

 5-incli or 6-inch pots. If they can be 

 plunged in a bed of coal ashes in an 

 open, sunny spot, where the hose can 

 conveniently reach them, they will make 

 a lot of growth during the next two 

 months. 



Variegated Vinca. 



Tliere is every season a big call for 

 variegated vinca. If your stock of it Ls 

 not as large as you could wish, look over 

 the stock plants in the field. You will 

 notice plenty of strong, succulent growths 

 starting from the base. Take off a quan- 

 tity of these and place in the cutting 

 beiicli. Pot them off singly when rooted. 

 Stand along the edges of your carnation 

 or other benches during winter, if no 

 otlier space is at command, and they. will 

 make serviceable plants for next summer 

 salrs. 



Geraniums. 



^ome anxious inquirers are wondering 

 if this is inot a good time to start prop- 

 a^;,ting geraniums, being anxious to work 

 ui' a good stock. It will not pay to do 

 any such propagating now. In such tor- 

 rid weather as we customarily get in 

 A.i£(ust, the greater part of the soft cut- 

 ti'!y:s will assuredly damp off. Wait 

 1" il September in the northern states 

 ^' ! October, or even later, in the south- 

 ^i states, and you will have only a small 

 P "entage of loss. Geraniums which 

 li'i'e been kept continuously under glass 

 !^' ■ much less liable to damp off than 

 -' li as have been grown outdoors. The 

 !;■ ter are softer and more full of sap, 

 f"'d it is a great mistake to attempt 

 t'l'ir propagation until we get cooler 

 ^^ •■at her. 



Hard-wooded Plant*. 



Intensely hot weather is hard on many 

 *f the ericaceous and other hard-wooded 

 plants. Unless watering is carefully at- 

 tended to, some of them are liable to get 



dried out completely, in which case it is 

 often impossible to save them. Where 

 not planted out, which is the best sum- 

 mer treatment for this class of plants, 

 the pots should at least be plunged to the 

 rims in soil or cinders, and a thorough 

 wetting overhead with the hose two or 

 three times a day when hot will greatly 

 benefit them. The old theory about its 

 being dangerous to syringe plants during 

 sunshine is all moonshine, and both out- 

 doors and under glass plants are greatly 



refreshed by wettings overhead during 

 the hottest part of the day. 



Annual Lupines. 



During the last two years lupines have 

 jumped into favor for indoor culture 

 in the big eastern markets and the bet- 

 ter class of flower stores are always 

 pleased to get hold of some such de- 

 sirable novelty. Lupines succeed well in 

 a night temperature of 45 to 50 degrees. 

 The seed for Christmas flowering ought 

 to be started early in August and can 

 be either sown directly in the benches 

 or in small pots to be planted out later. 

 The annual pink variety forces readily, 

 while ■ Hartwegii, in shades of blue and 

 white, and mutabilis make strong spikes 

 and are handsome in vases. These lu- 

 pines will yield a succession of spikes for 

 a good many weeks. Their culture is 

 similar to that of antirrhinums. 



Brief Reminders. 



Syringe plants freely overhead during 

 hot weather, but let the foliage become 

 dry before nightfall. 



Remove runners from violets in the 

 field and ply the cultivator constantly 

 among them. 



Order your cyclamen seed at once, if 

 not yet bought. Eemember the best is 

 the cheapest. 



Remove flower stems from winter 

 geraniums and pinch all strong shoots. 



Root some heliotropes, where plants 

 are required for winter blooming. 



Push ahead the filling of benches for 

 carnations. The earlier the plants are 

 in the better. 



Take advantage of moist weather to 

 transplant seedlings of perennials and 

 biennials to nursery rows. 



Watch seedling cinerarias closely, so 

 that no caterpillars can destroy the 

 foliage. 



Look over genistas and give them an 

 occasional pinching or shearing to keep 

 them shapely. 



DENDROBIUM EUOSMUM. 



The genus dendrobium is so extensive 

 that there are few days in the year when 

 in a collection of orchids some members 

 of it are not in bloom. The five varie- 

 ties most in evidence commercially are D. 

 nobile, Wardianum, formosum giganteum, 

 Phalaenopsis Schroederianum and the sum- 

 mer-blooming thyrsiflorum. The last 

 named is not adapted for cutting, but 

 plants carrying several racemes are deco- 

 rative and sell well. D. euosmum is one 

 of the earlier hybrids and is the result 

 of a cross between D. andocharis and D. 

 nobile. It flowers in midwinter, just 

 ahead of nobile. The sepals and petals 

 are pure white, the lip being dark ma- 

 roon. The bulbs are thinner and some- 

 what shorter than those of nobile and 



the flowers are deliciously scented. A 

 close, steamy house when growing in 

 summer, and drier and cooler quarters 

 when the bulbs are made up, will cause 

 them to flower well. Rather small bas- 

 kets or pans are suitable to grow this 

 variety in. It was originally raised by 

 Veitch, of London. W. N. Craig. 



SEASONABLE ORCHID NOTES. 



Oncidium Varicosum Rogersi. 



This popular oncidium is indispensable 

 where cut orchids are in demand. It is 

 also fine for mantel and mirror decora- 

 tions, while for the fall shows 4t can 

 hardly be beaten. It is now offered at 

 cheap rates, and as it is not at all a 



